Least Profitable Sports Leagues

Q

uestion: What professional bowler made the most money on tour during the 2006-07 season?

(You can find the answer at the end of this article.)

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Major League Soccer (MLS) are pinning their financial hopes on David Beckham, who signed a five-year, $32.5 million deal with the Galaxy in 2007. The truth is that while in the states, Beckham will make some big money in a league that has lost even bigger money.

MLS isn't alone; many pro sports leagues are running in the red. Some circuits have closed up, as those in charge were unwilling to suffer further losses and were pessimistic about recouping any invested cash. What follows is a look at some of the least profitable pro sports leagues in recent years.

Note: All amounts of money are in U.S. dollars.

Number 5

Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)

Total loss: $30 million

With a weekly telecast that aired on ABC and household names like Earl Anthony and Dick Weber, the PBA enjoyed great exposure and success for a number of years. However, as the 1990s drew to a close, the tour was on its last legs financially. In 2000, pro bowling got a much-needed shot in the arm from three former Microsoft executives who bought the PBA, hoping to keep the balls rolling.

The investment has yet to pay off, and the owners lost about $30 million in about six years. Those running the show said that they had to make some tough decisions, such as decreasing prize funds by 20% for the 2006-07 season. For most tournaments, the first-place check was $25,000 instead of $40,000. In the PBA World Invitational and Tournament of Champions, the top prizes went from $100,000 in each event to $50,000 and $60,000 respectively. Bowlers who barely cashed in the standard events received $1,800 instead of $2,000, while still shelling out a $500 entry fee. The PBA made no changes to prize funds in regional and senior tournaments, but it costs more to belong to the organization as dues for full members increased by about $5 per month starting in May 2007.

"The three PBA owners don't want to fund it at the same losing level they have in the past. The days of an open checkbook for the PBA are over and we must become self-supportive. I think that we can and will be profitable [in 2007-08], but it is contingent upon continued sponsorship growth,” said Fred Schreyer, PBA Commissioner.

Number 4

Xtreme Football League (XFL)

Total loss: $46.9 million

The XFL was a flashy version of pro football and reflective of its flamboyant ownership. That's how we could describe the XFL. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) offered this brand of football to fans in the 2001 off-season, with the hopes of feeding their frenzy until the NFL season started. Instead of becoming an entrenched part of the pro sports scene, the XFL became a quickly forgotten footnote that lasted one season.

Even though attendance at games was decent — about 10% under the league's goal — the TV ratings were dismal, suggesting that fans didn't take this renegade form of football seriously. For instance, the NBC telecast of the Chicago versus New York/New Jersey game on March 31, 2001, received a 1.5 rating. At the time, that represented the lowest viewership ever for any major American network prime-time broadcast.

In financial reports, the WWE announced its XFL fiasco led to a $20.4 million fourth-quarter loss and cut the company's total 2001 profits to about a third of the previous year's figures. WWE executives said that total losses attributable to the XFL were $46.9 million and basically chose to end the football flop because it didn't show much promise for ever making a profit.